


Safe - "Don't. Don't ask."

by FearfulKitten



Series: Batman Bingo 2020 [13]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Hood/Arsenal (Comics)
Genre: "Don't. Don't Ask.", Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Batman Bingo, Blood, Bruce Wayne Tries to Be a Good Parent, But its not all that bad, Death, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Dick Grayson Tries to Be a Good Older Sibling, Gen, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Jason Todd is a Batfamily Member, Killing, Murder, Tim Drake Saves the Day, batman bingo 2020, but Dick helps the most, jason todd is a mess, not exactly a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:35:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26435032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FearfulKitten/pseuds/FearfulKitten
Summary: Jason is great at getting into awful situations. He's really bad at getting out of them. Dick is a little tired of his impulsive little brother, but comes to the rescue all the same.Excerpt:"“Fuck man, why would you do this?” Dick kneels next to one of the bodies; a bullet wound in the middle of his forehead indicated the cause of death “Jason, what the fuck?”“Dick, please.” Jason gets up, holding his brother’s hands with his bloodied, trembling ones “Please, man. You have to believe me. I didn’t mean to do this. I just... Shit, man. I need help.”"
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Jason Todd
Series: Batman Bingo 2020 [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1852759
Comments: 10
Kudos: 159





	Safe - "Don't. Don't ask."

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for clicking this, I hope you enjoy this work! This has been beta'd by @TruthfulDaydreamer here on AO3, they are an amazing person and I don't know what would be of me without them making my works this much better with their sharp eyes. Thank you so much!  
> This was requested by an anon on tumblr. I love requests, so if after reading this you have any, just direct them to me on tumblr! I might take a while to publish them but I like them a lot.

Dick’s cell rang in the middle of patrol. Jason was calling. He frowns at the phone, but picks up anyway.

“Hey.” He says, sitting down on a rooftop, looking up at the stars “What’s up?”

“Hey.” Jason answers, and Dick can tell he’s struggling to breathe, as if he had run a marathon. He immediately straightens up, more alert “Are you... Can you get to my place?”

“Yes.” Dick stands up, already planning the best route to his brother’s apartment “What happened? Why didn’t you use the usual way?”

“I... I don’t want him to know.” Jason admits “It’s bad Dick. Really bad. I just need... A little help. Please.”

Dick sighs, and turns off his comm.

“I’m on my way.” He hangs up, shoving the phone back into its designated pocket.

Dick sees this kind of situation way too often with Jason. His impulsive brother would launch himself into situations he couldn’t always handle alone. Dick tried to remember that it was not his place to judge; he was just as impulsive as his little brother, but a part of him would always get irrationally mad over his actions. A small part of him, a part that he carefully buried deep inside his chest before he’d talk to his brother wanted to yell, tell him to stop behaving like a selfish child.

Swallowing these thoughts, Nightwing tapped on his brother’s window before opening it.

“Jason?” He called as he stepped into the dark apartment.

“I’m here.” Jason answered, sitting in the corner of the living room.

“I’m gonna turn on the lights, okay? I can’t see anything in here.” Dick warned as he placed a hand on the lightswitch.

“No, wait!” Jason tried to stop him, but it was just too late. Once the living room was illuminated, Dick gasped at the scene ahead of him, feeling sick.

Two corpses were laying on the ground, each in one end of the room, and Jason crouched against the wall, covered in blood. There were puddles of it under both of the bodies, and there were splashes on the walls and couch, indicating that the murders had happened inside. The stains were still a deep red. The stench of it burned into Dick’s nostrils, making him gag on the metallic smell.

“Jason, what did you do?” Dick asks as he shoves his hands inside his hair, pulling a little at the sides.

“Don’t.” Jason starts “Don’t ask.”

“Fuck man, why would you do this?” Dick kneels next to one of the bodies; a bullet wound in the middle of his forehead indicated the cause of death “Jason, what the fuck?”

“Dick, please.” Jason gets up, holding his brother’s hands with his bloodied, trembling ones “Please, man. You have to believe me. I didn’t mean to do this. I just... Shit, man. I need help.”

Their eyes met, and Dick’s anger and resentment dissipated for a second, noticing how deeply desperate his little brother was. How lost his little wing felt, covered in the blood of two strangers, face riddled with bruises and eyes so, so scared.

Slowly, he nodded at the younger man, finally understanding what this was about.

Because it wasn’t about the killings. Jason was far too used to it by now.

It was about the place. It was about it being here, where he should feel safe. And now, he didn’t feel safe anymore.

“Alright. I’ll help. But we’ll need to talk about this eventually.” Jason opened his mouth to protest, but Dick interrupted him “I don’t need it to happen tonight. I just need it to happen, and  _ it’s going to happen _ , Jason.” His brother swallowed and nodded, backing off and looking at the ground “Okay. Now pull yourself back together, because we’ll need to get rid of these bodies quickly. Do you know who they were?”

“I don’t know their names... I just know that they were Roman’s hitmen.” Jason rubbed his face in distress, smearing blood all over it “Fuck, Dick, what am I gonna do now?”

“Breathe.” Dick said “Breathe, and get control over this. You can freak out once we’re done.But right now, I really need you to cooperate with me.”

“Okay.” Jason nodded “Okay. What do you need me to do?”

“Get me trash bags and rope. We’ll tie these bodies together.”

Jason goes into his kitchen and Dick crouches down to roll up his brother’s carpet and drag the two corpses closer. Once his brother comes back, both of them cover the bodies with black trash bags and tie them up with the rope, in a nauseating dead man burrito.

“Listen, Jason, I’m gonna need to call someone else.” Jason’s eyes widen “We need to get these bodies out of here so we can dispose of them, but I’m on foot. It’s either Tim or Babs.”

“I...” He takes a deep breath “Call Tim.”

“Alright.” Dick says “Start getting cleaning supplies. And some strong ass scissors or whatever, so we can cut up and burn this carpet.”

“What? Why?”

“It’s drenched in blood and I don’t feel like spending hours cleaning it. Do you?”

“Yeah, okay, we’ll… we’ll burn it.”

Jason leaves the room again and Dick calls Tim.

“Hey. It’s me.” Jason can overhear the conversation, even if he doesn’t want to “Listen, I need help. I’m at Jason’s. Two bodies that need to be gone. Can you handle it? Thank you, Tim.” Dick turns to Jason, who had just walked back into the room “He’ll be here in ten. Let’s get started on the cleaning.”

Dick removed the stains from the couch quickly before cleaning the walls as Jason moped the floor to the best of his skills. When Tim arrived on the Batplane, Dick went to the roof to greet him, bringing the two bodies.

“Fuck, man.” Tim says “What did he do this time?”

“He doesn’t wanna talk about it.” Dick shoves the bodies in the small plane, grunting from the effort “Can you find out who they were and maybe make them disappear?”

“Pfft. Of course I can.” Tim answers “This is all kinda dark, but it’s not like I’m not  _ me _ .”

“Yeah, right.” Dick smirks “Thank you Red Robin. Really. And, oh, maybe don’t mention this to Batman?”

“Nightwing, do you have me confused with Robin? Because I  _ do _ have brains.”

Dick snorts. If anyone would be able to make him laugh in a situation like this, that would have to be Tim.

“Whatever. Thank you for the help. I’m gonna go back to cleaning.”

“Go on. Good luck.” Tim gets on the plane and flies away.

Dick quickly hops back into the apartment, and Jason had already started cutting the carpet into strips. He shoved the pieces his brother had cut inside another trash bag.

“We’ll burn those in a proper place.” Dick explains.

Once they are done with the living room, Dick directs his brother to the bathroom.

“Okay. We’re done now Jay. If you need to let it out, to... break down, go ahead, it’s okay. I’m here.”

Jason shoved his hands in his hair, overwhelmed, and he leaned on Dick and cried on his shoulder until his body went limp.

“What the fuck is wrong with me, man?” Jason cries, face buried on Dick’s neck and shoulder “Why do I... Why can’t I just be like you? Why does this keep happening?”

“Shh...” Dick ran a hand through his brother’s hair “It’ll be alright Jay. We’ll handle this.”

“How?” He steps back, searching his brother’s eyes, but Dick still has his mask on “How can we handle this? I... ‘s my apartment, Dick! They figured out where I live! I’m a failure, and a danger! To others and myself.” Jason’s eyes fall, fixated on a crack in his bathroom’s tiles “Y’know,” He starts again, whispering “When a dog kills someone... they put it down.”

“Hey, look at me.” Dick says, grabbing Jason’s shoulder “You’re not a dog, Jason. And we’re  _ not _ putting you down. We’re family, okay? Not by blood, but by something stronger: choice. And I’m not giving up on you.” He squeezes his brother’s shoulder a little “So don’t you  _ dare _ give up now, do you hear me?”

Jason nods, trying to regain some of his confidence.

“I just...” He sighs, rubbing his eye with the back of his hand “I don’t even know where to start.”

Dick’s expression softened, and so did his grasp on Jason’s shoulder.

“Let’s start with a shower, yeah?” He suggests.

“Yeah. That- that’s a good idea.” Jason answers, pulling off his jacket and staring at a blood stain on it “What... What about my clothes?”

“Let me worry about them.” Dick takes the jacket from his brother, waiting for the next items patiently, back turned to his brother.

Dick left with the clothes, going for Jason’s small laundry. He ran some cold water through the fabrics, getting rid of most of the stains, and used some hydrogen peroxide on the most stubborn, already dried ones. He hung the clothes up so they wouldn’t stench up the whole area, hoping that Jason wouldn’t take them as clean clothes. After that, Dick opens his communicator’s channel again, clicking on it to call for Batman.

“Batman,” He starts “I’m off for the night.”

“Nightwing, you’re not done with your patrol time yet.” Batman replies.

“I know.” Dick sighs and presses the middle of his forehead with his middle finger, stressed “Something came up.”

“What came up?”

“What usually does.”

“And what would that be?” the Bat growls.

“What do you think?” Dick rolls his eyes, trying his hardest not to say  _ I’m stuck playing dad again because you’re too busy punching criminals in a bat suit. _

The line goes silent for a while.

“Is he... Okay?” Bruce asks. And this is definitely Bruce’s voice, not Batman’s growl.

“Physically? Yeah, just a couple of bruises. Mentally? Getting there. Or at least trying to.”

Dick hears the man breathing on the other end of the line.

“And I don’t suppose you’re telling me what happened?”

“You know I won’t.” Dick answers “It’s none of your business. He’s a grown man, he’ll share it if he feels like it. Don’t go demanding answers he isn’t ready to give.”

“Nightwing...” Batman’s voice sounds almost sad through the device “If you can... Bring him home. Please.”

“I will. If he wants to.” Dick takes a deep breath, closing his eyes, tired. “I’m signing out for the night. Be safe.”

As he pulls the device from his ears, Dick wants to throw it against the wall, step on it when it falls, take one of Jason’s pistols and shoot it three times in a row. Instead, he places it on top of the washing machine, bringing his right hand to the back of his head to take a fistfull of his own hair, the strands closest to his neck, and tugging at it. Barbara’s words came to mind.  _ “You have to stop doing that,” _ She had said to him once  _ “You might just end up going prematurely bald” _ .

Dick had argued that that is not how balding works, plus, his biological father kept his hair for as long as he lived, so he most likely was all good on that one. He hoped.

Walking to Jason’s closet, Dick opened the last drawer on the left corner, picking up the sweatpants and t-shirt his little brother kept for him, if he ever needed to change from his Nightwing outfit to regular clothes. As he stripped, he noticed a sharp pain on the right side of his torso. There was a big, dark bruise covering that side of his ribcage. Rolling his eyes, he pulled on the comfortable clothes, annoyed at the pain as he rubbed the area harshly, not sure if that made it better or worse.

In the living room, Dick shot the kitchen door a look, trying to decide on whether or not he should try to make Jason a warm meal. He wanted to, but his tiredness and sore muscles got the best of him, deciding to settle on the couch to wait for Jason, hoping that the man wouldn’t be hungry.

It doesn’t take long for Jason to come out of the shower, hair dripping wet.

“Hey.” Dick turns his head to look at him “Do you need some ice for those bruises?”

“No.” Jason replies, groaning as he sits down next to Dick “Are you... Can you stay? Just for tonight?”

“Of course I can.” Dick answers, offering a weak smile to his brother “But... Maybe this isn’t the best idea.”

“What? Why not?”

“I don’t think that you’ll be able to sleep here, Jay.” Dick says, leaning forward a little.

“Are you... Trying to drag me back to the manor?” Jason squints as he speaks.

“No.” Dick sighs “I just... I had to offer. But it’s your choice.”

Jason stops for a moment.

“I... I would. But... I don’t think that... Bruce really wants me there.” He rubs at his eyes for a moment.

“Hey, c’mon, that’s not true at all.” Dick hugs him, resting his chin on Jason’s shoulder “Bruce wants you there. He’d be thrilled with having you back, Jay. You’re his little boy, no matter how much you grow.”

“Are you sure?” Jason whispers.

“Yes.”

“What if he... what if he finds out about... This?” He gestures towards the room “He’ll throw me out... for good.”

“He won’t.” Dick answers softly, the vibrations his voice sent through his chest helping calm Jason down as he spoke “He loves you too much.”

Jason cried again, sobbing violently until he was out of breath, gasping for air between tears. Dick hummed softly, the tune of an old lullaby he knew calmed his brother down, a hand brushing through Jason’s hair.

“C’mon, Little Wing,” Dick whispered “Let me take you home, hm? You’ll sleep better there.”

“Okay.” Jason whispered back “But... we don’t have to tell Bruce why, do we?”

“Of course we don’t Jay.” Dick rubbed his arm.

Jason sniffled, and they sat quietly for a while before the younger man got up. Dick helped him pack some clothes and other personal items, enough for a week. If Jason decided he’d stay any longer, they could always drive back to get more things. When they reached the manor, both of them went straight to Jason’s room, and Dick sat on the ground, by Jason’s side, humming lullabies he had learned from his father, mother, Alfred, Bruce, and even Jason until his brother fell asleep.

Dick went down to the cave, wanting to work more. He wouldn’t be able to go back to the streets now, as much as he wanted to. Everyone would scold him for leaving Jason alone, and he didn’t really have the heart to do so anyway, but he also knows he won’t be able to sleep yet. However, in the cave he is still useless. If they needed information or help of any sort, they’d all contact Oracle, not Nightwing.

So he settled for practicing, using the bars on the cave to let off some steam, performing difficult and elaborate flips, practicing different grips, using his core muscles as much as he could, strengthening them. He wanted to be sore when he went to bed, and he was. The extra exercise helped him fall asleep faster, and the next morning, when he felt his entire body ache, he might’ve regretted his decision, but Jason was at the breakfast table, sliding him a cream for bruises and winking at him, so he didn’t, because at the very least his little brother was safe at home.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I hope you enjoyed this. If you did, consider following me on tumblr! @fearfulkittenwrites for my writing blog and @fearful-kitten01 for my personal blog. I may be a little absent from now on because my classes are coming back this monday, but I'll try to post at least every ten-twelve days. Still, don't be shy to send me requests! I like to have a clear direction to follow with my writing, it stops my mind from wandering too much and forces me to actually finish stuff instead of trailing off to the next work, hahahaha!  
> Once again, thank you to @TruthfulDaydreamer, you're amazing.
> 
> I love you all, stay healthy and safe out there. <3


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